Structure-based design of a FAAH variant that discriminates between the N-acyl ethanolamine and taurine families of signaling lipids

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inactivates a large and diverse class of endogenous signaling lipids termed fatty acid amides. Representative fatty acid amides include the N-acyl ethanolamines (NAEs) anandamide, which serves as an endogenous ligand for cannabinoid receptors, and N-oleoyl and N-palmitoyl ethanolamine, which produce satiety and anti-inflammatory effects, respectively. Global metabolite profiling studies of FAAH (-/-) mice have recently identified a second class of endogenous FAAH substrates: the N-acyl taurines (NATs). To determine the metabolic and signaling functions performed by NAEs and NATs in vivo, a FAAH variant that discriminates between these two substrate classes would be of value. Here, we report the structure-guided design of a point mutant in the active site of FAAH that selectively disrupts interactions with NATs. This glycine-to-aspartate (G268D) mutant was found to exhibit wildtype kinetic parameters with NAEs, but more than a 100-fold reduction in activity with NATs attributable to combined effects on K-m and k(cat) values. These in vitro properties were also observed in living cells, where WT-FAAH and the G268D mutant displayed equivalent hydrolytic activity with NAEs, but the latter enzyme was severely impaired in its ability to catabolize NATs. The G268D FAAH mutant may thus serve as a valuable research tool to illuminate the unique roles played by the NAE and NAT classes of signaling lipids in vivo.